Inhibition

Chapter 18

The next day, Finley wasn’t there when Cat woke up. It wouldn’t seem like such a big deal, since it wasn’t like they left together anymore. But they usually left around the same time at least. For her to have left when Cat was just getting up? Maybe they weren’t on speaking terms after their discovery.

Cat got dressed as usual, deciding that maybe this was just the thing that Finley needed. Finley didn’t have any friends besides Cat, so maybe a few days alone would due her good. Cat knew that having no one to talk to her would drive her bonkers. She was glad she had Aidan and Aubrie, and now Midge hopefully. She felt like she could use all the alliances she could get, especially when whatever was happening around her, was happening.

It wasn’t until she was on her way to the school that she realized just how glad she was she had those allies.

The story had spread throughout the school quickly. Of course, perfect Cat Alderton had managed to get in trouble. Sure, that this wasn’t the first time her magic had messed up, but before, the teachers were always on her side. It had made taunting her almost off limits. Now, though, that the Headmaster himself had denounced her work, nothing could stop the students from talking back. It didn’t matter how the teachers still liked her. They had been overruled by their boss.

At first, Cat hadn’t noticed anything different. People were always talking about her. She had learned to ignore their whispers. But now it was different. The comments weren’t just on the side. They were everywhere. They were snide. And mean. Everyone was almost overjoyed at her downfall.

But there were only so many times one could get “freak” coughed at them. Especially since coming from this crowd, that was saying a lot. Of course, the teachers that liked her tried to get them to be quiet since it wasn’t a nice thing to do. The teachers that didn’t like her just wanted the students to shut up. It was a win-win situation for Cat.

When she got to combat class that day, Cat decided she was fed up with all of the people. Finley had finally shown up for a class, after being absent for all of the morning classes she had with Cat. But during Combat, Finley just stood in the corner. She wasn’t going to be much help in the matter.

The class was now using water, the second least dangerous element, since it only really harmed when it got out of control. They were practicing moving around the water in a small bowl, all to the left or the right, and then advancing on to poke random holes in the water and keep them there.

Cat probably also didn’t win any points when she parted her water and exclaimed “Look! I’m Moses parting the red sea!” and then went on to say, “Wait, do ya’ll believe in Moses?”

Finley, looking highly offended, was the one to reply.

“Yes, Cat, we believe in Moses. Actually, considering your comment, we’re probably more religious than you are.”

“Geez, don’t get all bent out of shape about it,” said Cat. “I was only joking.”

The class ignored her from then on, but still took the time to talk about her. As if she wasn’t in the same classroom, standing mere feet away, and they were not whispering. Cat just looked out the one window in the room. It was about the size of a regular window, and it was positioned dead center on the wall of the classroom that Coach Will used for teaching.

There weren’t any covering or anything, so one could always look outside and see how the weather was. Today, it was raining. Scratch that, it was pouring. The entire sky was dark, lightning occasionally flashing cutting through the sky, followed by thunder that rattled the buildings. Worse than the thunder, though, was the wind. It was so loud that Cat knew it would be defining without the protection given by walls. The window panes shook, and Cat imagined the whole tree listing to one side, people sliding across the floor without even noticing and teachers continuing their lessons as if nothing were happening.

Before long, the class had progressed past their little bowls of water. They all formed a circle around a large container, roughly the size of a child’s swimming pool. They took turns moving the water on the top, only a few managing to move the water enough to see the metal at the bottom. Coach Will would then touch the visible part to see how dry it was. More than once she got a mouthful of water, as the kid wasn’t able to hold the water molecules long enough for her to check.

Coach Will skipped Cat. Yep, just went right onto the next kid to Cat’s left as if she wasn’t even there. Coach Will at least tried to be nice about it, by not saying anything and by moving quickly, but everyone noticed. They had all been eagerly awaiting the latest destruction that Cat would do, and were disappointed that there wouldn’t be a show.

The wind got louder in Cat’s ears. She tried to swat it away before she realized that it wasn’t a bug. Then she looked for the person whistling. Finding no one, Cat looked out the window. It was chaos. Trees were nearly horizontal and the wind kept hitting the rain into the building. That had been the sound she’d heard; the strong winds whistling by. This concerned her, though no one else seemed to notice, and Cat didn’t want to make a scene by asking.

But there was something going on. Cat tried to concentrate on the lesson. She had sucked so much the last time she tried to control her magic that not paying attention wasn’t really an option. The wind got even louder, making it impossible for her to keep her eyes on Coach Will. They kept flitting to the side, to the storm outside. Other people were doing it to now, as the wind and rain became too much to ignore and the class too boring to pay attention.

And then . . . it stopped. All was silent. The rain stopped falling and the wind dropped off to nothing. Cat had just enough time to wonder about it when the window blew in.